Apparatus for use in the finishing of textile fabrics



May 1962 H. CARLISLE 3,031,732

APPARATUS FOR use IN THE FINISHING 0F TEXTILE FABRICS Filed March 29,1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I I I IN VENTOR ORNEY' H. CARLISLE May 1, 1962APPARATUS FOR USE IN THE FINISHING OF TEXTILE FABRICS Filed March 29,1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I A l I |l {a ATTO NEY ited Patented May 1, I962fiice 3,031,732 APPARATUS FOR USE IN THE FINISHlNG F TEXTELE FABRHerbert Carlisle, Stand, Whitfield, Manchester, England,

assignor to Chemstrand Limited, London, Engiand, a

British company Filed Mar. 29, 1960, Ser. No. 18,345 Qiaims. (Cl. 26-57)This invention relates to textile finishing apparatus and moreparticularly to apparatus for finishing fabrics made of synthetictextile fibers produced from acryloniuile polymers.

When dyeing and finishing loosely formed fabrics such as cellularfabrics made of acrylonitrile polymer fibers, in order to insure maximumdevelopment of thecellular structure of the fabric, it is desirable thatthe processing of the fabric be carried out while the fabric is in arelaxed condition. This manner of handling, coupled with the inherentplasticity of the basic fiber, results in a tendency for the fabric tobecome creased, rolled, curled or otherwise distorted along the selvagesthereof so that the width of the fabric is not uniform. With thisproblem in mind, one of the objects of this invention is to providenovel and improved apparatus for finishing textiles.

Another object of this invention is to provide apparatus for removingcreases or curls from selvages of a fabric.

A further object of this invention is to provide apparatus wherein afabric is held at its selvages and at points spaced from the selvagesand is then placed under tension between these points and the selvagesto remove creases or curls from the area adjacent to the selvages.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus havinga first pin-carrying belt for engaging and holding a fabric at theselvage thereof, and also having a second pin-carrying belt positionedat an angle from the first belt and adapted to engage and hold thefabric along a line spaced from the selvage in such a manner that, whenthe belts are moved, the fabric between the belts and along the selvageis placed under tension.

One embodiment of this invention contemplates an apparatus having afirst pair of parallel pin-carrying belts which are adapted to engageand hold a fabric at the selvages thereof, the pins piercing and holdingthe fabric. A second pair of pin-carrying belts positioned between thefirst pair of belts and mounted so as to converge toward each other andaway from the first pair of belts is adapted to engage and hold thefabric at points spaced from the selvages. As the fabric is moved alongon the belts, the convergence of the inner belts causes the fabric to bestretched in the area of the selvages, thereby removing curls or creasesfrom these areas. The portion of the fabric between the inner beltsremains in a state of relaxation as the fabric passes through theapparatus, steam being applied to the fabric as the creases are removedfrom the selvages.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent whenthe following detailed description is read in conjunction with theappended drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is a plan view of an apparatusillustrating one embodiment of the invention and showing the manner inwhich the pin-carrying belts are positioned;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary end view of the apparatus showing a fabricsupported on the pin-carrying belts;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on line 33 ofFIGURE 1 showing one of the mounting brackets which supports one of theouter belts;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on line 44 ofFIGURE 1 showing one of the rollers supporting one of the inner belts ata point where the inner belt changes direction; and

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on line 55 ofFIGURE 1 showing a bracket supporting a roller which carries one of theinner belts at the forward end of that belt.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, a frame 11 is shown supportinga plurality of tubes 12 from which steam issues through ports 13 totreat an elongated fabric strip =14 made up from acrylonitrile fibers.This is a con ventional treatment. The fabric strip 14 is supported on abelt 18 positioned above the tubes 12 in any convenient manner andconstructed in such a manner that the steam from the tubes 12 readilypassesthrough the belt and engages the fabric strip 14 for treating andsoftening this strip in a well-known manner.

A pair of parallel outer belts 19 and 20 having a plu rality ofprojecting pins 21 for engaging and holding the selvages of the fabricstrip 14 are carried by rollers 24 supported above the frame 11, thepins 21 being adapted to pierce and hold the fabric. The rollers 24 aresupported on brackets 25 (FIGURE 3) movably mounted on the frame 11 andthreadediy connected to threaded shafts 28 and 29 which are rotatablymounted on the frame 11. Handles 31 and 32 attached to the shafts 28 and29 are provided for rotating the shafts to move the belts 19 and 20together or apart for accommodating fabric strips of various widths, theopposite ends of each of the shafts 28 and 29 being threaded in oppositedirections.

An inner pair of belts 36 and 37 are provided with a plurality of pinswhich are adapted to pierce and hold the fabric strip 14 at pointsspaced from the selvages thereof. A shaft 40 rotatably mounted on theframe 11 at the forward end thereof movably supports a pair of brackets41 having mounted thereon rollers 42 which support the belts 36 and 37at the forward end of the apparatus. The shaft 46 is provided with ahandle 43 which may be operated to rotate the shaft and move the leadingends of the belts 36 and 37 together or apart, the shaft 49 beingoppositely threaded on opposite ends. The trailing ends of the belts 36and 37 are carried by rollers 50 mounted on brackets 51 adjustablysupported on the base 11 and connected to a shaft 52 having its oppositeends threaded in opposite directions. A handle 53 secured to the shaft52 is provided for rotating the shaft 52 to move the trailing ends ofthe belts 36 and 37 together or apart.

A pair of rollers all mounted on brackets 61 adjustably secured to theframe 11 and connected to a threaded shaft 62 enage the belts 36 and 37at intermediate points thereof for permitting a change of direction ofthe belts 36 and 37. A handle 63 secured to the shaft 62 may be operatedto rotate the shaft 62 and move the rollers 60 together or apart, theshaft 62 being oppositely threaded on its opposite ends.

It will be noted from the drawings that the outer belts 19 an i 20 arepositioned parallel to each other for gripping the edges or selvages ofthe fabric strip 14 and that the inner belts 36 and 37 are positioned insuch a manner that these belts are positioned fairly close to the outerbelts 7.9 and 2d at the leading end of the apparatus and converge towardeach other and away from the outer belts 19 and 26 toward the rollers60. From the rollers 60 to the rollers 50, the belts 36 and 37 areparallel to each other. The convergence of the inner belts 36 and 37 isprovided for stretching the fabric strip 14 in the area of the selvages.

Inasmuch as the leading ends of the inner belts 36 and 37 are not normalto the shaft 46, it is necessary to provide for a pivoting of the axesof the rollers 42 relative to the axis of the shaft 40. To accomplishthis, the brackets 41 are made up of two parts, the body of the 3bracket (indicated by the reference numeral 41) and a yoke 65 having apin 66 extending downward into a bore in the bracket body. The yoke 65and the pin 66 may be rotated in the bore in the bracket body to alignthe roller 42 with the belt. A set screw 6'7 is provided for holding theyoke 65 in its adjusted position.

In operation of the apparatus, the fabric strip 14 is advanced in anyconvenient manner into the leading end of the apparatus. The pins of theinner belts 35 and 37 pierce and hold the fabric at points near theselvages thereof.

Inasmuch as the shaft 40 is positioned in advance of the shaft 28, thebelts 36 and 37 engage and grip the fabric strip 14 shortly before thestrip is caught on the pins of the belts 19 and 20. Immediately afterthe fabric strip 14 engages the belts 36 and 37, the pins on the belts19 and 2t) pierce and-hold the selvages of the fabric strip 14.

During further movement of the strip 14, the area between the belts 19and the area between the belts 20 and 37 are placed under tension andstretched to remove any creases or curls therein. This stretching andtensioning operation continues until the rollers 60 are reached. Nofurther stretching takes place after the rollers 60 are reached, sincethe belts 36 and 37 are parallel to each other and to the belts 19 and20.

The steam applied from the tubes 12 softens the fibers of the fabric sothat by the time the fabric passes the trailing ends of the belts 36 and37 all of the tension in the stretched areas has been relaxed. Thecentral portion of the fabric strip 14 is carried through the apparatuson the belt 18 in a relaxed condition. In this manner, the edges orselvages of the fabric strip are smoothed and creases removed therefrom.

The amount of stretching of the fabric may be adjusted by adjustment ofthe belt-supporting rollers on the frame, this being accomplished byoperating the handles secured to the threaded shafts.

It is to be understood that the embodiment of the in- Vention disclosedherein may be modified or changed and that many other embodiments may becontemplated without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for removing creases from a fabric, comprising a frame,a first belt movably mounted on the frame and having thereon means forgripping the fabric at the selvage thereof, a second belt movablymounted on the frame and having thereon means for gripping the fabric atpoints spaced from the selvage, said second belt having a first portionpositioned at an angle to the first belt in such a manner that movementof the fabric past the belts applies increasing tension to the areabetween said points and said selvage, said second belt also having asecond portion parallel to the first belt for applying a uniform tensionto said area after said increasing tension has been applied thereto.

2. An apparatus for removing creases from a fabric, comprising a frame,a first pair of parallel belts movably mounted on the frame and having aplurality of projecting pins for piercing and holding the edges of thefabric, a second pair of belts movably mounted on the frame and having aplurality of projecting pins for piercing and holding the fabric atpoints spaced from said edges, said second pair of belts beingconvergent in the direction of travel of the fabric in such a mannerthatthe areas of the fabric between the first and second pairs of beltsare stretched.

3. An apparatus for removing creases from the selvages of a fabric madeor" synthetic fibers, comprising a frame, means on the frame forapplying steam to a fabric advanced along a path over the frame, a firstpair of parallel belts movably mounted on the frame and having aplurality of pins for piercing and holding the edges of the fabric, anda second pair of belts movably mounted on the frame between the firstpair of belts and having a plurality of pins for piercing and holdingthe fabric at points spaced from said edges, said second pair of beltsbeing convergent in the direction of travel of the fabric so that theareas of the fabric between the first pair of belts and the second pairof belts are stretched.

4. An apparatus for removing creases from a fabric made of syntheticfibers, comprising a frame, a plurality of apertured tubes mounted onthe frame for applying steam to a fabric being advanced along a pathabove the.

frame, a plurality of first rollers adjustably mounted on the frame, afirst pair of parallel belts mounted on the first rollers and having aplurality of projecting pins for piercing and holding the edges of thefabric, a plurality of second rollers adjustably mounted on the frame,and a second pair of belts mounted on the second rollers between thefirst belts and having a plurality of projecting pins for piercing thefabric at points spaced from said edges, said second pair of belts beingconvergent in the direction of travel of the fabric.

5. An apparatus for removing creases from a fabric, comprising a frame,a supporting belt mounted over the frame for carrying the fabric along apath over the frame, a pair of parallel belts movably mounted on theframe on opposite sides and spaced from the supporting belt and having aplurality of pins for piercing and holding the fabric at the edgesthereof, and a second pair of belts positioned on opposite sides of thesupporting belt and inside the first pair of belts, said second pair ofbelts having a plurality of pins for piercing and holding the fabric atpoints spaced from the edges, said second pair of belts having opposedfirst portions which are convergent and opposed second portions whichare parallel to each other and to the first pair of belts.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS645,237 Sharp Mar. 13, 1900 1,732,089 Honeyman et al. Oct. 15, 1929FOREIGN PATENTS 3,239 Great Britain of 1882 911.0 ermany M y 0. 1954

